Twelve Days of Christmas
by glassfacet
Summary: At the beginning of December, President Lory Takarada asks every LME employee what they want most for Christmas. Four days before Christmas, a man shows up in Lory's office, claiming to be Kyoko's father. And now Kyoko has to break the news to the most important people in her life.
1. Partridge

On the First Day of Christmas

"How are we today, LoveMe?" asked a daimyo-cosplaying President Lory Takarada as he waltzed through the neon pink door into the pink and white room where three young women in neon pink jumpsuits watched a drama and took notes.

"Beyond irritated," replied Kanae Kotonami, the woman on the far left. "This girl's only good point is her dancing ability."

"The plot does seem a little contrived," added Chiori Amamiya, the woman on the right. "I mean, really? The dancer falls for the cold, mean dance teacher who suddenly becomes the ideal lover? That's so fake."

"President, I must object as well to this drama," said the woman seated in the middle, Kyoko Mogami. "This drama is about an abusive relationship. It teaches girls to accept awful behaviour from men, even if it destroys them!"

"But it received such positive responses from critics and viewers," protested Lory, pouting slightly. "And it's one of my personal favourites."

"The way the teacher treats her isn't loving," said Chiori. "It's manipulative. And he drives her to dance herself to death in the end and just gets away with it. How is that romantic?"

"The direction is awful as well," said Kanae. "It's clunky and badly edited."

"It had potential," said Kyoko, looking over her notes. "With a slightly altered script and better direction, it could have been really good even with the flawed acting."

"Thank you for looking for some good parts in it," grumbled Lory, accustomed to the three LoveMe members ripping apart any and all dramas they viewed. Often, he had them watch pilots of different shows to let the director know where the show was lacking. Their criticism had saved many a project from tanking. "I'll keep that in mind if they decide to do a remake."

"Don't cast me," said Chiori immediately. "I can't dance to save my life."

"You were in a good mood when you came in," said Kyoko, changing the subject before her friends could get themselves into more trouble with their odd boss. "Could it be because Christmas is coming soon?"

"Ah, you guessed correctly!" said Lory, regaining his joyful energy. "I am collecting a list of things that my wonderful people have always wanted, but for some reason couldn't have. So, what is it that you might wish for?"

"Cosmetic surgery on my neck," said Chiori immediately. "The burn scar reminds me of terrible things, and it limits what I can wear, which restricts the roles I can play. I'm really self-conscious of it, but the surgery is expensive."

"Steady jobs for my siblings," said Kanae with a sigh. "I'd love them more if they didn't always freeload at my place with all of their kids."

"That is pretty hard on relationships," said Chiori, nodding agreement.

"Hmm," said Lory, adding their requests to his list with his own special notations beside them. "I see. And you, Kyoko?"

Kyoko fidgeted uncomfortably. "It's a bit - well, very embarrassing. I've always wanted to know who my biological father is. My mother never told me, and his name isn't on my birth certificate. I have my mother's family name. It's always bothered me."

Lory blinked twice and then added her request to his list. "Maria wanted to know if you would co-host the Grateful Party again this year."

"I would be happy to," said Kyoko, her face lighting up. "I'll have to call her later about the guest list. Oh! If I don't leave now, I'll be late for filming. See you later, Miss Sigh, Chiori!" And she flew from the room in a flurry of neon pink. Her friends exchanged looks.

"What was her mother thinking, not telling her anything about her father?" asked Kanae derisively. "I bet lots of kids picked on her for not knowing who her father was."

"It doesn't matter to me," said Chiori. "She's still a great actress, regardless of who her parents are."

"Yeah, but it would be awkward if she fell in love with her brother by accident," said Kanae. "Or something like that."

"That would be just awful," agreed Chiori. "I should probably go, too. I won't be late if I leave now, but I still want to talk to Kyoko about a new year's sleepover. You should come too, if you want."

"I'd like that," said Kanae. "I'll let you know what my shooting schedule is going to be like around then. I might get more sleep at your place then at my own." Chiori laughed, waved and hurried out the door. Kanae gathered her own things, waved to the president and headed off to another one of her jobs.

Lory returned to his office with his now completed list in his pocket. Sebastian met him at the door to the office. Lory sighed, "I'm going to need help for this one. Could you call my travel agent, my personal physician and a private detective to my office for me?"

Half an hour later, Lory had sorted out who wanted to go where and when they could go and turned that list over to his travel agent, who set herself up in an empty office nearby and began booking hotels and flights for over two hundred people. The physician would be arriving in a few hours after making his rounds. Lory was just waiting on the private detective, who was a few minutes late.

"Mr Yuki Ichihara to see you, sir," announced Sebastian from the door. A slight, bespecled man in a light grey suit entered and bowed to the president before sitting down.

"My apologies," said Ichihara sincerely, "I just came from another client. I had hoped to have more time to get here, but the circumstances were unusual."

"As are these," said Lory, staring the young man down. "I understand that you are very, very good at your job."

"I've never failed a client yet," said Ichihara evenly. "What or whom are you looking for?"

"One of my talents wishes to locate her father," said Lory. "I'd like the information by the twenty-third of December. There are two issues: she doesn't know his name, and she doesn't know where he might have gone to, if he's still alive."

"That makes things a bit trickier," mused Ichihara. "May I know the person in question's name?"

"Kyoko Mogami," said Lory. "Though her stage name is Kyouko. Her mother's name is Saena Mogami. Both were born in Kyoto."

"Saena Mogami from Kyoto," said Ichihara with a sharp nod. "That's as good a place to start as any. I'll bill you when I bring you the information. I will see you at three on December twenty-third, if not sooner."

"I very much look forward to your results," said Lory. "I would assume that you won't be sharing this information with the press."

"Of course not," said Ichihara. "Confidentiality is part of the transaction."

Lory looked at him critically. "Yuki Ichihara isn't your real name, is it?"

Ichihara laughed at that. "Of course it isn't. My teacher's name was Ichihara, though that wasn't her real name either. A friend of mine once told me I was as pale as snow with the personality of an avalanche. I believe I threw a pasta bowl at his head in response."

"You must have been good friends," observed Lory.

"We still are," said Ichihara with a tiny amused smile. "Until the twenty-third."

Sebastian shut the door behind him with a slightly worried expression on his face. He asked, "Do you really think that he can do it? He doesn't seem very reliable."

"Many friends recommended him to me," said Lory. "He has never once failed to find every relevant detail to a case he took on. The results are more than impressive. I believe he will deliver the information."

"And if he doesn't?" asked Sebastian. "What will you tell Miss Kyoko then?"

"That there are twelve days of Christmas," said Lory, "and she must wait to get her present through the days. He will find her father for her. Have some faith, my friend. It's Christmastime."


	2. Turtledoves

On the Second Day of Christmas

Lory got a phone call from Ichihara on the twentieth. Unsurprisingly, it had good and bad news.

"He wants what?" asked Lory incredulously.

"As I said," said Ichihara calmly, "he wants to come to your office with me. Apparently, he feels the need to properly introduce himself and explain the situation to you. And to Miss Mogami as well, if you think it wise."

"Bring him in with you then," said Lory. A devious plan had just popped into his head. "This might very well be just what Kyouko needs to get better!"

"Very well," said Ichihara. "I'll bring him by tomorrow morning. I think you'll need the time to process what I've found."

"I'll make a space for you tomorrow morning at nine," said Lory. "I have a great interest in hearing what you've found."

At nine o'clock on the morning of December 21st, four men met in the presidents office at LME. Lory sat behind his desk, hands folded under his chin. Sebastian stood off to one side, ready to fetch tea or remove an unruly guest, whichever might be necessary. Across from Lory sat a very amused Yuki Ichihara. And next to Ichihara sat the man who was apparently Kyoko's father.

"So, Mr Fuwa," said Lory. "You claim to be Kyoko's father. I know from her that you adopted her when she was six. However, I am looking for her birth father."

"I did DNA tests at three separate labs," Ichihara assured him, "using separate samples taken from both of them. There is no mistake. Keiichi Fuwa is Kyoko's biological father."

"Saena was a mistake," said Keiichi nervously. "I'd recently married, but we were struggling, and, well, there she was. Irresistible. She didn't want anything from me at all. And then my wife and I were expecting Shotaro,and Saena called to tell me she's expecting as well. So I offered to take the baby in. She didn't want to be a mother. Kyoko's only a few weeks younger than Shotaro."

"So you're trying to tell me that you feel Kyoko's existence is a mistake," said Lory flatly, temper rising rapidly.

"Far from it," said Keiichi quickly. "Sleeping with her mother was a mistake. Anyone but Saena. But I love my daughter. I wanted her to have the inn when my wife and I retire. But I couldn't ever tell Kyoko the truth. I mean, I was going to. But I just couldn't do it. Not without breaking her broken heart further."

"Her request is that we tell her the truth," said Lory. "I would like you to do it."

Keiichi nodded. "I'll get together her real birth certificate and transcripts of messages between Saena and I. I'm prepared for her to reject me completely. I almost expect her to. Can I meet with her here? Maybe on the morning of the 24th? If she's upset, I don't want to ruin her birthday."

"Are you planning on contacting Saena about this?" asked Lory.

"No," said Keiichi. "She gave up her legal rights to Kyoko when we formally adopted her. Is there anything she needs signed?"

"Parental consent," said Lory, pulling the required document out of his desk drawer. "It's all filled out. All I need is your signature on the dotted line at the bottom."

Keiichi picked up the pen and let it hover over the line. "Is she happy here? With friends and normal teenage things like that?"

"Kyoko is very well loved here," Lory assured him. "My granddaughter and my godson adore her. She is liked and respected by many, and she enjoys both her work and time spent with her coworkers, who tend to become her friends. Her grades are very good. Overall, I feel that Kyoko is happy."

"Please, continue to take good care of her, then," said Keiichi, signing the documents. "All I ever wanted was for her to feel safe and be happy. I regret that I couldn't give her that. She deserves so much more than misery."

"May I ask you what Saena is like?" asked Lory. "I'm curious about the woman who abandoned such a promising little girl."

"I think Saena is the kind of person who is awkward about herself," said Keiichi. "She couldn't integrate her idea of what a mother should be with her businesswoman persona. In a way, I think she was sad because she's a woman, when things would be easier for her if she was a man. Then she wouldn't have to defend her ambitions to everyone including herself."

"I did look into Saena a little bit," said Mr Ichihara. "One of the observations from all of her supervisors was that she was hard, unyielding and distant from her coworkers. None of them ever heard her mention her daughter."

"Thank you both," said Lory, rising from his desk. His visitors followed suit, Keiichi fidgeting nervously as he took in Lory's full Tarzan-inspired costume, complete with baby anaconda Natsuko.

"It was my pleasure," said Ichihara, bowing slightly. "I would be happy to help you out anytime, Mr Takarada."

"Thank you, sir, for agreeing to see me," said Keiichi, also bowing. "I am hopeful for my meeting with Kyoko."

"As am I," said Lory. Sebastian showed the two men out. Lory returned to his seat and hauled a stack of offers towards himself. He binned two poorly-written, badly conceptualized scripts, an idiotic request for his support on a film project, and a letter from the producer of Bridge Rock politely requesting permission to fire Kyoko on grounds of personal prejudice, despite the excellent work she did on the show.

Maria bounded into the room around the time he finished reading an intense drama about a strained family. He slapped a sticky note with 'Kotonami' on it and placed it on the Talent Section pile. Natsuko slid off his shoulders and greeted the little girl. Maria giggled as Natsuko did a thorough smell check.

"Hello Maria," said Lory. He set his work aside. "How has your day been?"

"Great!" said Maria. "One of my friends has ordered a new set of candles for me. And Big Sister's coming over tonight for a sleepover and last minute planning session. I ran into Ren in the lobby, and he promised that he'd come to the Grateful Party, and Yashiro even said that he knew that Big Sister and I want to see him so he made sure that Ren would be finished work by eight-thirty on Christmas Eve."

"That's wonderful news," beamed Lory. "I'm very pleased for you. It's good that Ren will be spending Christmas with people."

"That's what I said," Maria informed him. "I know he wants to spend more time with Big Sister, and spending time with Ren makes her happy. I like it when they're happy."

"So do I," said Lory. "I like it when all of my people are happy. But between you and me, Maria, those two are favourites of mine. And I think that their happiness spreads through LME and everywhere they work."

"Big Sister can be evil," agreed Maria, "but she has these positive vibes that make people like her. This year's Grateful Party is going to be great. We're doing a winter wonderland/ snow maiden theme."

"Snow maidens, hm?"

"Big Sister is designing and making our dresses for the evening. Jelly said that she'd come by early and do our hair."

"Then I'll have to get a picture with both of you. There's an idea. Photos with our lovely snow maidens to go into a photo album with the guest's signature."

"That's a wonderful idea!"

"I'll have to get one for each of you then," said Lory. "It's lovely to see you so excited, Maria."

"I'm glad big sister thought of a Grateful Party," said Maria. "Dad said that he was going to come to the party and stay until after New Year's. There's lots to be grateful for."

Lory smiled softly down at his granddaughter. "There certainly is."


End file.
